'The Hook Up' Game On #1 by Kristen Callihan

From the BLURB:

The rules: no kissing on the mouth, no staying the night, no telling anyone, and above all…

No falling in love. Anna Jones just wants to finish college and figure out her life. Falling for star quarterback Drew Baylor is certainly not on her to do list. Confident and charming, he lives in the limelight and is way too gorgeous for his own good. If only she could ignore his heated stares and stop thinking about doing hot and dirty things with him. Easy right?

Too bad he’s committed to making her break every rule… Football has been good to Drew. It’s given him recognition, two National Championships, and the Heisman. But what he really craves is sexy yet prickly Anna Jones. Her cutting humor and blatant disregard for his fame turns him on like nothing else. But there’s one problem: she's shut him down. Completely.

That is until a chance encounter leads to the hottest sex of their lives, along with the possibility of something great. Unfortunately, Anna wants it to remain a hook up. Now it’s up to Drew to tempt her with more: more sex, more satisfaction, more time with him. Until she’s truly hooked. It's a good thing Drew knows all about winning.

All’s fair in love and football… Game on

Drew ‘Battle’ Baylor is star quarterback on his college football team, winner of a Heisman Trophy and frequent topic of conversation on ESPN for future draft picks. There is no reason for him to fall so fast and hard for Anna Jones – buxom redhead, former high school wallflower now one half of the most gossiped about hook-up at their college.

‘The Hook Up’ is the first book in a new contemporary romance series (do I have to say ‘new adult?’) from Kristen Callihan – author of the wonderful fantasy/paranormal romance series ‘Darkest London’.

So, I was a huge fan of ‘Friday Night Lights’. On occasion, I get totally bummed that it’s not on anymore (and hasn’t been since 2011 – where has the time gone?). I miss not being able to return for new stories with my favourite characters in Dillon, Texas – and sometimes not even re-watching the box-set always appeases me (though having Connie Britton’s hair return in ‘Nashville’ helped a little). Point being: I miss stories around the small town mythology of school football. I miss stories about young demi-football-gods and how playing the game they love sometimes creates moral and ethical conundrums for them – and all this without me knowing jack-all about American football! I just love the stories, and have done since ‘Varsity Blues’ – but ‘Friday Night Lights’ was really just the ultimate for me. But I have found that what the box is lacking in providing me football stories as gritty and romantic as ‘Friday Night Lights’, contemporary romance books more than make up for. Case in point: Kristen Callihan’s new series ‘Game On’ and this first book in particular.

In this football story, our female protagonist is Anna Jones – a young woman who is still haunted by the emotional bullying she experienced in high school, particularly concerning her appearance. When Anna bumps, quite literally, into Drew Baylor in their philosophy class, sparks fly – but Anna has a hard time believing that infamous ‘Battle Baylor’ (star QB, local hero) would be interested in her and is determined to keep their relationship casual, despite Drew’s protestations.

Drew knows that he wants Anna – and not just as a one-time only hook-up. The trouble will be in convincing her that he’s in it for the long-haul: despite what may be coming his way with a promising football career. Because Drew knows a thing or two about going after what you want – his parents dying when he was 18 gave him some serious perspective on not taking anything for granted, and going after what you want. 

My mother once told me that the most important moment in my life wouldn’t be when I won the National Championship or even the Super Bowl. It would be when I fell in love. 

Life, she insisted, is how you live it and who you live it with, not what you do to make a living. Given that she told me this when I was sixteen, I basically rolled my eyes and worked on practicing my pass fakes. 

But my mother was insistent. 

“You’ll see, Drew. One day, love will creep up and smack you upside the head. Then you’ll understand.”

Yes, this is total fantasy contemporary romance – a really intriguing flip in which the female protagonist wants casual, while the male yearns for forever. This, even though Drew admits that young women are constantly throwing themselves at him and his teammates. But Callihan gives Drew enough dark back-story to actually make this dynamic seem halfway credible – losing his parents at a young age, an ex-girlfriend who told relationship lies to the media … it all adds up to Drew getting quite serious about Anna very early on and liking the idea of starting something serious and long-haul with her.

I also really liked Anna as a protagonist (the story actually flips between both their POVs) – she’s a curvaceous young woman who has only just recently started embracing her feminie body, but still struggles with a lack of confidence because of her particularly hellish high school years. I loved that Callihan doesn’t actually write Anna body-shaming herself (no endless diatribes about fat thighs, or bulging tummy) – we read Anna disbelieve or brush aside Drew’s comments about her physical beauty, but that’s really it. On the flipside, readers get Drew’s interiority about how much he appreciates Anna’s body – and it’s for all the reasons we can imagine she’d consider flaws.

This book is H-O-T. Callihan, as she did in ‘Darkest London’, writes really beautiful sensual scenes – in this contemporary romance there’s a lot more sex on the page, but Callihan never lets it get tiresome or repetitive. And she integrates Anna and Drew’s physical intimacy with their emotional really, really well.

I was about two chapters into this book when I started recommending it to my romance reader friends – it was that good! (and they concurred). I’m going to call this a favourite book of 2014, which is kind of great considering I bought it on a whim based on the strength of Callihan’s totally different paranormal romanceseries, and because I was having ‘Friday Night Lights’ withdrawals. This was a wonderful romance and I can’t wait for the next two books in the ‘Game On’ series.

5/5

'Moonglow' Darkest London #2 by Kristen Callihan

 Received from the Publisher

From the BLURB:

Once the seeds of desire are sown...

Finally free of her suffocating marriage, widow Daisy Ellis Craigmore is ready to embrace the pleasures of life that have long been denied her. Yet her new-found freedom is short lived. A string of unexplained murders has brought danger to Daisy’s door, forcing her to turn to the most unlikely of saviors...

Their growing passion knows no bounds...

Ian Ranulf, the Marquis of Northrup, has spent lifetimes hiding his primal nature from London society. But now a vicious killer threatens to expose his secrets. Ian must step out of the shadows and protect the beautiful, fearless Daisy, who awakens in him desires he thought long dead. As their quest to unmask the villain draws them closer together, Daisy has no choice but to reveal her own startling secret and Ian must face the undeniable truth: Losing his heart to Daisy may be the only way to save his soul.

 
Daisy Ellis is a free woman, though you wouldn’t know it from the way she has sequestered herself from London society. Now a widow and free of her sadistic husband, Craigmore, a part of Daisy is immensely relived that the old bugger is dead and she is now safe from him. But the ton still talk and Daisy has subdued her need for companionship and lustful play. Until now.

But on the night that Daisy has chosen to take her first paramour in six years, tragedy and horror strike. A beast falls upon Daisy and her nameless suitor in a dark London alley . . . and what Daisy sees, she can hardly believe. Neither man nor beast, she watches in horror as it rips and mauls and she barely escapes with her life.

Ian Ranulf, the Marquis of Northrup is out on the town. He’s running around London, trying to calm his imprisoned wolf and shake off memory of the six failed whores he could not find the will to couple with. And then he hears a scream, and smells blood mixed with Lycan. In one-hundred-and-thirty odd years, Ian has never seen or smelt anything like what he finds in that dark London alley. People eviscerated by what smells like a sick werewolf. But mixed among the rotting stench of death and sickness is a scent of sunshine, and a luckily unscathed Daisy Ellis. 

Ian knows of the Ellis family, since he recently tried his hardest to break off the marriage between Lady Miranda and her husband, Archer. But he never thought Miranda’s sister would be even more delectable than her. Unfortunately for Daisy, Ian is not the only one desperate to have her – the maddened werewolf also seems to have caught her scent, and is intent on tracking her down. 

‘Moonglow’ is the second book in Kristen Callihan’s ‘Darkest London’ historical paranormal series.

I very recently read Callihan’s first ‘Darkest London’ book ‘Firelight’ and absolutely loved it. In this new series she is reimaging 18th century London, making it far more fantastical and supernatural. In rewriting history, Callihan’s London has monsters lurking in the shadows – demons, werewolves, ghosts and all manner of things that go bump in the night. First book ‘Firelight’ introduced us to the mysterious, masked Lord Archer, and his new fire-starter bride, Miranda Ellis. In ‘Firelight’ on top of combating Archer’s many masked secrets and her own fiery capabilities, Miranda found a hurdle in Ian Ranulf. A certifiable rake, he was quick to warn Miranda of the dangers Archer posed and warned her off marrying him – with the enticement that he would make a worthier lover. Miranda did not heed his warnings and got her happy ending with Archer. But as a reader, I was utterly intrigued by rakish Ranulf and the delicious possibilities he posed. Needless to say, I was thrilled to learn that the second book in Callihan’s fantastical series concentrated on him . . . especially since we learn that his wolfish charm was no fluke. Not at all.

The action in ‘Moonglow’ kicks off right away, with a werewolf attack and Daisy barely escaping with her life. Luckily for her, Ian Ranulf was out running around London when he scented the crazed werewolf, and ran to her rescue. The moment he sees Daisy and smells sickness on the were, Ian knows he is inevitably embroiled in tracking the monster down. Ian is, it turns out, an exiled werewolf of his old Ranulf clan – a prestigious pack of werewolves who rule most of Scotland. Ian has been exiled ever since he refused to challenge his sickly Alpha father for the throne, instead letting his vindictive little brother, Connall, have leadership. And, as Ian’s investigations prove, Connall has no knowledge or even intention of doing his part to track and end the mad werewolf. So it’s left to Ian, the reluctant Alpha. 

When Daisy is saved by Ian and taken to his townhouse, she doesn’t know who he is – except her saviour. It’s not until Miranda comes to collect her that she realizes Ian is the same man who tried to break up her sister’s marriage to Archer, the same Ian who tried his best to bed her. Daisy is instantly wary, especially since she has had her fill of unkind men. Unluckily for her, the mad wolf has her in his scent, and Ian intends to keep her close and keep her safe. This is an especially uncomfortable establishment, since Daisy becomes more and more enamoured of the big, hulking Scot . . . 

I suspected Ian Ranulf would be an interesting character from his devilish stint in ‘Firelight’, but I wasn’t prepared for how much I'd enjoy him. Callihan is definitely proving herself as a writer of delicious hero’s – I loved Archer and his quiet intensity in ‘Firelight’, not to mention the delicious secrecy of what lay behind his mask. Ian is entirely different, but equally enticing. He’s a bit of a tragic hero, really – a werewolf who has already been alive for more than one-hundred years and experienced his fair share of heartbreak and loss. Initially (and as in ‘Firelight’) he’s a terrible rakehell – bedding whores (however unsuccessfully) and enjoying getting Miranda and Daisy’s ire up. But as the story unfolds, Ian’s sad history is revealed – those he loved and lost, the woman who plagues his memories and their ending that convinced him he is a monster. So Ian keeps a firm leash on his wolf – lest he become the monster he fears. In Callihan’s universe, werewolves can live forever if they reach maturity without disease or grievous injury. The wolf is always within them, but they do not turn into wolves – for doing so may lead to never turning back to man. Ian is unnaturally strong and fast, he heals otherwise deadly wounds (including being able to grow back limbs) his eyes can change to wolf and he can turn his hands to claws. But to become wolf is to lose himself, and while the creature prowls within, he keeps it buried.

Daisy was an equally complex and charming character. She suits her name; a lovely, sunshine woman who, even though she has known heartache and lived through an abusive marriage, has come out the other side with war wounds and a spine made of steel. She was a fantastic leading lady, especially for the way she handled Ian and her growing, inconvenient feelings for him. Daisy and Ian’s romance was made trickier by the remembrance of his supposed ‘feelings’ for her sister, Miranda. Daisy Ellis is very unlike her sister; she’s short and curvy where Miranda is statuesque, and Daisy has golden curls to Miranda’s flaming red locks. When these two do get together though, they rival Miranda and Archer for the intensity and heat of their romance; 

“Och now.” His callused palm cupped her cheek. “Did ye fear I'd lose my pretty face?” he said, drawing out his brogue as though he knew she liked to hear it.
“Of course.” She nudged his ribs with her fist. “What else is there to admire about you?” When he bent his head down to peer at her, she rested her forehead against his. “Certainly n-not your inane conversations.” Her fingers curled about his shoulders as he peppered her face with soft kisses. “Or your r-ridiculous jests.”
He gatherer her tightly once more and soothed her with gentle strokes as she cried. His chest was a fortress, his arms battlements. Her cheek pressed against the warmth of his pectoral muscle and she heard the steady drum of his heart.

Calliahn’s ‘Darkest London’ world grows exponentially in ‘Moonglow’, as I'd hoped it would. We learn more of the beasties who prowl London, and the organizations tasked with keeping them in check. There’s the SOS – The Society of the Suppression of Supernaturals – whose job it is to keep tabs on the supernatural’s and keep the knowledge of them from humans. And we meet a few more of the fantastical species that run rampant in Callihan’s world, like the GIM (ghosts in the machine – or, body snatchers). I loved a certain GIM we meet in ‘Moonglow’, and hope it’s not the last we read of him and this race of creature. Especially because I loved their steampunk physiology, so beautifully imagined by Callihan; 

Embedded within the centre of his chest lay a little glass window framed in gold, through which, beneath the cage of bones, blue veins, and flesh, pumped a golden heart, a miracle of clockwork gears and moving pistons.

Callihan also gives us a lengthier introduction to the Ellis sisters and their background – including eldest sister, Poppy who is married to Inspector Winston Lane. I really loved learning more about the sisters, and how they fit into this supernatural world (it’s a doozy!). But I especially loved the set-up for third book in the series, ‘Winterblaze’, which concentrates on Poppy’s story. This is going to be a very different romance and I can’t wait to read it! Callihan laid some incredibly enticing groundwork in ‘Moonglow’, and now I am counting down to book three.

I loved Kristen Callihan’s first book, ‘Firelight’. I became completely enthralled with this skewed, supernatural London and the dashingly complex characters she writes. I am beyond pleased that second book, ‘Moonglow’, continues my fascination and obsession with this new paranormal historical series – now a favourite of mine. I cannot wait for more books in this series I am so happily addicted to!

5/5

'Firelight' Darkest London #1 by Kristen Callihan

From the BLURB:

Once the flames are ignited . . .

Miranda Ellis is a woman tormented. Plagued since birth by a strange and powerful gift, she has spent her entire life struggling to control her exceptional abilities. Yet one innocent but irreversible mistake has left her family’s fortune decimated and forced her to wed London’s most nefarious nobleman.

They will burn for eternity . . .

Lord Benjamin Archer is no ordinary man. Doomed to hide his disfigured face behind masks, Archer knows it’s selfish to take Miranda as his bride. Yet he can’t help being drawn to the flame-haired beauty whose touch sparks a passion he hasn’t felt in a lifetime. When Archer is accused of a series of gruesome murders, he gives in to the beastly nature he has fought so hard to hide from the world. But the curse that haunts him cannot be denied. Now, to save his soul, Miranda will enter a world of dark magic and darker intrigue. For only she can see the man hiding behind the mask.

When she was just ten-years-old, Miranda Ellis bought her family to ruin. A warehouse fire left her father in debt and saw her beloved sister, Daisy, being sold off in marriage to the highest bidder in an effort to regain funds. Miranda’s father insisted that she start thieving to repay the damage she had done to the family . . .  even though the fire was beyond her control. Because Miranda has pyrokinetic ability, and since childhood she has feared being consumed by the flames she can conjure with her mind.

Hector Ellis owes a lot of people a lot of money, one of them being Lord Benjamin Archer. But when Archer goes to collect his blood debt, he comes across young Miranda Ellis – dressed as a boy, cornered in a back alley by a group of thugs. Archer steps in and aids the young girl, whose disguise cannot hide her ravishing beauty – Botticelli red hair and exquisite features which will ripen as she grows into a woman. Archer leaves the young, eighteen-year-old Miranda, refusing to reveal his true identity to her. Unbeknownst to her, Archer has decided to spare Hector his life, and take his payment another way. . .

Three years later and Lord Archer has come to collect Miranda Ellis, his new bride. Both are nervous about the reunion. Miranda is especially hesitant, because her father has offered her up like a lamb to slaughter for a little bit of money . . .  and because her new husband is the Dread Lord Archer. The man who makes women faint for fear and clears a path wherever he goes. Because Archer wears a mask, always – black silk covers his entire face and neck, and a hard mask on top of that means nobody knows Archer’s true age, or what disturbing deformity has him hiding away in plain sight. 

Archer is equally nervous. He burns for Miranda, and has for these past three years. He feels a connection to the young beauty, and he wants her with a longing that pierces his soul. But he fears what will happen when he drags her into his world, if he lets her see the beast beneath the mask. When Archer’s old friends of the debunked ‘West Moon Club’ start dying in gruesome murders that point back to Archer and his secret, he is sure he has made a mistake in taking Miranda for his own. But the heart wants what the hearts wants, and Archer has always known Miranda was meant for him. . .

‘Firelight’ is the debut historical paranormal novel in new series ‘Darkest London’ by Kristen Callihan.

This novel crept up on me. I bought it on a whim because I was intrigued by the Diana Gabaldon puff quote on the front cover . . .  and I’m so glad that I did. I cracked this book open, thinking that I'd give the first page a read, just to get an idea of it, and then maybe put it somewhere near the top of my ‘To Be Read’ pile . . .  a few hours later I was holed up in my room, devouring the last pages and thanking the reading Gods that I'd stumbled across this little gem!

Our hero and heroine have a chance meeting under dubious circumstances . . .  while out to murder her father; Lord Archer stumbles across Miranda Ellis in a dangerous situation and instead rescues her, deciding that when she’s older he’ll take her hand in marriage instead of her father’s life. An interesting start to a romance, to be sure. Skip ahead three years and Miranda is none the wiser that her new husband, the masked and mysterious Dread Lord Archer, is the same man from the alleyway all those years ago. All she knows is that Archer leaves a swirl of gossip and whispers in his wake, wherever he goes . . .  he never takes off his mask (not even to prepare his new bride for what’s in store for her) and soon after their nuptials, strange and murderous occurrences that point to Lord Archer as the main suspect start plaguing their marriage. . .

Callihan’s book sounds like a lot of mysteries, wrapped in conundrums and peppered with a little ‘whodunit’ for good measure. And certainly there is a lot going on in this novel – between Archer’s elderly friends dying, Miranda following the clues back to a ‘West Moon Club’, a search for immortality and Miranda herself dealing with her pyrokinesis. . .  there is a lot happening in this book. But Callihan writes with an enviably deft hand – she gives readers just enough slack about the mystery to keep us in suspense, while writing calculating sleights of hand and a smouldering romance that keeps things tantalizing. This is a novel with lots of plots and back-stories going on, but Callihan is such a marvellous storyteller, juggling the paranormal, mystery and romance angles to perfection.

The paranormal and mystery plots in ‘Firelight’ all lead back to the ‘West Moon Club’, and rumours that this odd and now disbanded club were once on the scientific hunt for immortality . . .  this mystery also leads Miranda to clues about Lord Archer, and what lies beneath his mask. This paranormal mystery is absolutely delicious – Callihan has been influenced by a Norwegian fairytale, called ‘East of the Sun and West of the Moon’ – which is a little bit like ‘Beauty and the Beast’, with many more interesting origins and themes.

The mystery is made all the more tantalizing for being set in an unaltered history. Normally when the historical and paranormal genres cross-over it’s for Steampunk purposes, or the world setting is altered so that supernatural beings are ‘out’ in society. Not so in ‘Firelight’. London in 1881 is just as the history books remembered . . .  what’s cunning and curious is that the supernatural was always lurking beneath the surface. Miranda keeps her pyrokinesis a secret, and there’s a certain ton family who occasionally flash yellow eyes and have a particular affection for the moon . . .  but all of this remains a secret, hidden beneath the veneer of genteel London aristocracy. I loved this – it adds another layer of tension that all he supernatural business is being conducted in secret, while all the players have to keep up appearances in society.

The mystery and supernatural story in ‘Firelight’ is delicious and frightening – but the show-stopper of this book is the romance, and the characters of Miranda and Archer.

Now, normally I hate the ‘love at first sight’ angle in romances, but Callihan writes this old cliché with new vitality and utter believability. Despite his masked appearance and the puzzle of what he’s hiding beneath the mask – Miranda is drawn to Benjamin Archer, and he to her. At one point he remarks that it’s like there’s an invisible string connecting them – so he’s always aware of her, knows where she is and forever on his mind. And even though she has not seen his face, doesn’t know the extent of his secret or even how old he is, Miranda feels closer to Archer than anyone else she has ever met. Archer and Miranda are, without a doubt, a new favourite paranormal couple. They have sensuality and passion, tempered with mystery and blind love, and they share some of the most heart-stoppingly romantic moments;

The wide expanse of his chest brushed against hers, as he leaned in. “You’re collecting pieces of me, aren’t you?” His voice turned thick as warm toffee, rolling over her skin, heating it. “A bit here. A bit there. Soon you’ll set me out on the table, try to fit me back together.”
Ignoring the flurries plaguing her belly, she affected blandness. “I've only got the corners. But it is a start.”
A warm breath touched her neck. “I believe you have the centrepiece as well.”

I absolutely loved ‘Firelight’. The second book in the series comes out in August, and I’m already counting down the days! The second book will focus on Miranda’s older sister, Daisy, and the cunning Ian McKinnon of yellow eyes and Luna obsessions. I really liked Ian in ‘Firelight’, even though he causes quite a stir between Miranda and Archer . . .  his book is sure to entertain. In the mean time, I will be hunting down a copy of ‘Ember’ - the short prequel to ‘Firelight’ which focuses on Miranda burning down her family’s fortune.  

‘Firelight’ is a stunning debut in what promises to be a brilliant new paranormal historic series. I look forward to reading more ‘Darkest London’ stories, but I also think that whatever Kristen Callihan writes – be it historical, paranormal, romance or other – she will be a new automatic-buy author for me.

5/5